A Mother's Love
by Em Kay Who
Summary: Nothing can compare to a mother's love. A little one-shot that looks into the relationship between Jackie and Rose Tyler.


**A/N: Hello lovlies. I'm just going to come right out and say it. I've been having a really rough few weeks personally. And the one person who has always been able to make me feel better is my mother. We have an incredibly close relationship that I am very grateful for. After a long and emotional talk with her last night, this sort of popped in my head. So this one's for her. I hope you all enjoy!**

**Special thanks goes to Ash. She is incredibly kind and supportive and is an amazingly talented writer to boot. Go check out her work. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related. That all goes to the BBC.**

* * *

The bedroom door opened without noise. Bare feet padded across soft carpet, until the newcomer was at the side of the large bed that took up most of the room.

"Mum?" a small voice whispered. When there was no sign of movement from the occupant of the bed the voice whispered even louder, "Mum?"

Jackie Tyler's eyes opened wide automatically as a gasp caught in her throat. Her eyes immediately fell on oh daughter's small, frightened face. Her hand clutched at her chest as she said, "Rose, sweetheart, you frightened me. What are you doing up?" She glanced at the bedside clock. "It's just past two."

Six year old Rose Tyler bit her bottom lip nervously. "I had a bad dream," she admitted. "Can I sleep with you?"

Her mum let out a relieved sigh that it wasn't something more serious and pulled back her blankets. "Come on, then. You want to tell me what it was about?" she asked once her little girl was settled, her voice still thick with sleep.

"I dreamed that you left. You left and didn't come back and I was all alone. I couldn't find no one. I was all by myself," Rose confessed, sounding close to tears.

"Hey, now. I'm right here. It's was just a dream, sweetheart. I'm right here and I always will be."

"But what if something happens to you like it did to daddy?"

"We can't think like that, Rose. But what do I tell you all the time? Hm? Your dad is always with us in our hearts. And if something did happen to me, and that's a big IF, then I would still always be with you. Right here." She pointed to her daughter's chest. "Alright now? It was just a dream."

"Okay, Mummy," the little girl said quietly. "I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

Jackie Tyler looked up from the telly when she heard the front door to their flat open and close with a bang. "Rose?" she called out. When her eleven year old daughter entered the living area, she caught sight of the young girl's red puffy eyes, tears streaks still damp on her face. She immediately jumped up and folded her little girl in an embrace. "What is it, sweetheart? What happened?"

Rose answered through stifled sobs, "It's... It's Brianna. She's moving away! And... And... I'm never going to see her again!"

Jackie closed her eyes. She was pleased there was nothing seriously wrong with her daughter. Though, she knew the heartache she must be feeling at finding out one of her best friends was leaving the area. "Oh, don't say that! Where is she moving to?"

"Bloody Glasgow! Her dad got a job there or somethin'."

"Oi! Don't swear," she reprimanded, ignoring Rose's eye roll. "And that's good, sweetheart. You know her dad had been unemployed for the past year or so. Things have been really rough for their family."

"Yeah, but why couldn't he just find a job here! Why do they have to move all the way to blo-" Rose caught herself about to swear again, "to Scotland."

Jackie sighed and lead her daughter over to the sofa. "That's life. He's been looking for a job here for a long time and there's been nothin' for 'im."

"I know. And I'm glad for 'im. Really, I am. But it's not fair! I'll miss her so much!" With that, her resolve broke, as she gave in to the sobs she had been holding back.

"There, there, love. It'll be alright. You've still got Shareen and Keisha here. And, hey, who knows, maybe when you three are a little older we can arrange for you to go visit with Brianna. That would be nice, yeah?"

Rose lifted her head off her mum's shoulder and wiped her nose with that back of her hand. "But how could we afford that?"

"Hush, now. We'll worry about all that when the time comes. Plus, Brianna could always come here to visit us. I'll speak to her mum about it before they leave... Which is when exactly?"

"Three weeks."

"Well, we're just going to have to make the best of these three weeks! We can plan a sleepover for you girls! We'll order in some Chinese, watch girly movies, the works. You'll see, Rose. Everything will be alright. The great thing is, you and Brianna will be able to phone each other and send letters. You'll still keep in contact."

Rose smiled. "Thanks, Mum. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

It had been a long day of standing on her feet, fixin' hair for next to nothing, and all Jackie Tyler wanted to do was sit down with a nice cuppa and watch the newest episode of EastEnders. But then she heard a knock on the door. Looking out the peek hole she realised it was her daughter on the other side. The door flew wide open. "Rose! Sweetheart, what are you doing here?" She looked down and saw two large bags at her daughter's feet. "Is everything alright?"

Seventeen year old Rose Tyler opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was a choking sound. Her face scrunched up, trying to keep the tears at bay, as her mum grabbed her bags off the doorstep and pulled her inside. Before she knew it, she was curled up on the sofa with a warm cup of tea in her hands. She sipped the warm, milky liquid and moaned. "I missed your tea, Mum."

Jackie smiled slightly. Rose had moved out six months ago to live with her deadbeat boyfriend, Jimmy, and they had barely scene one another since then. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"You were right."

"About?"

"Jimmy, quitting school, movin' in together. Everything, Mum. You were right about it all."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said softly, taking a seat next to her little girl. "I didn't want to be."

Rose let out a harsh laugh. "He left me for some other cow and took all my money I'd saved up while he was at it. I got nothin', Mum. Actually, I've got next to nothin'. I'm in debt because of that git. I don't know what to do."

Jackie squared her shoulders and looked her daughter in the eye. "I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to move back in here. You're going to get a job and start workin' off that debt. I saw a sign in Henrick's window the other day sayin' they were hiring. You'll go down there first thing tomorrow and put in an application. Better check the other shops 'round there while you're at it." She took her daughter's hand in hers. "You'll get through this, Rose. You are a Prentice and a Tyler and neither give up. Understood?"

Her daughter nodded. "Thank you, Mum. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

"I tried to tell her she'd look 'orrible as a ginger, but did she listen to me? Ha!"

Jackie smiled as she and Bev gossiped over a bottle of wine. It was something they did quite often now that Rose was off travelling with that mad alien. She'd prefer to be gossiping with Rose right now, but who knew when she'd be home next. Ten seconds? Ha! More like ten weeks it would seem. Just then Jackie's mobile began ringing.

Looking down at caller ID, she jumped off the sofa and said, "S'cuse me for a moment, Bev. Rose is calling." Making her way to her bedroom, she closed the door and answered. "Rose! Oh, I've missed you, sweetheart. It's been ages. I thought that alien of yours fixed your phone so you can call anytime? What what good is that if you don't use it. Rose? Rose, are you there, sweetheart?"

Jackie heard a slight sniffle and then the voice of her twenty (or she supposed technically still nineteen) daughter say, _"I'm here, Mum. Sorry. I'm here."_

"You sound like you've been crying. What happened? What did that alien do!?"

_"Nothing! He hasn't done anything, Mum. It was just... It was just a long day and I met this woman, who, uh, who reminded me of you. It just made me miss you is all."_

"Well what are you doin' phoning then? Come see me. Come home."

_"I can't right now, Mum. The TARDIS, that's what the ship is called, had a bit of a rough day. The Doctor wants to make sure it's in proper working order before we try and go anywhere,"_ Rose explained. _"But, I promise, I'll come back for a visit soon, yeah?"_

Jackie felt her heart sink, but tried to keep her voice light. "Course, yeah. Sounds lovely. I'll make us tea... Are you sure you're alright, sweetheart? 'Imself's being good to you?"

_"I'm fine, Mum. Really. Like I said, I met someone today who reminded me of you. Honestly, it was like you two were the same person."_ She gave a small chuckle.

"Well, bet she was lovely then!" Jackie said a little more happily.

_"Oh, yeah. A real gem," _Rose commented through a yawn.

"You sound tired. Why don't you get some sleep, yeah? Call me again soon please."

_"I will, Mum. And I promise I'll have the Doctor bring me back soon."_

Jackie liked the thought, but didn't get her hopes up. "Alright, then."

_"Goodbye, Mum. I love you."_

"I love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

Jackie and Rose both sat on the sofa, staring off into the distance. The Doctor had just left to go and sort out Mickey's now unoccupied flat. Seeing how upset both Tyler women were, he had offered to take care of all those small details. He arranged to have a local charity pick up Mickey's clothes and furniture and then planned on packing up any of his extra things for Jackie and Rose to sort through.

Rose broke the silence first. "I just can't believe I'm never going to see 'im again."

Jackie nodded. "I thought the same thing after Pete died. At least this time we know that Mickey is alive and well, just in another universe. Oh! Would you listen to me. I'm starting to sound like one of those nutters on the internet Mickey was always readin' up on."

A small smile tugged at Rose's lips. "I'm so proud of 'im though. He's going to be amazing over there. I just wish he could have done that here."

"He couldn't, sweetheart. He was so in love with you, you know." She held up her hand. "And I'm not telling you that to make you feel guilty. Truly, I'm not. But, Rose, if he stayed here he would always be pining for you. He tried datin' that Trisha Delaney, and that was just a disaster. Because he was always waiting for you. So patient. He always said that someday you would have to come home and when you did he would be there. But I knew, I knew that even if for some reason you did have to come back here, you wouldn't get back together with 'im."

"I did love 'im, mum," Rose cried.

"Oh, I know you did, love. It just wasn't the type of love Mickey needed. And now, now he has a chance to make a new life for 'imself. And that's good."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is. I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

"Rose, sweetheart. It's time to go now. You can't stay here forever."

Jackie's daughter looked up at her, with large, glassy eyes. "I can't leave yet. He said to always wait five and half hours."

Jackie bent down and tucked a clump of hair behind Rose's ear. "I know. I know, love. And we have. We've been here for six hours, but now it's time to go. Pete said there'll be some workers comin' through here soon and they can't see us. We don't exist here. Well, apparently I do, but I'm dead. We're going to go to his place until he can set us up with some IDs."

Rose started breathing heavily. "I don't know what to do, Mum."

"Ssshhh. That's okay. Let's just get to Pete's house first and then we can figure out the next step. One thing at a time, yeah?" After a few more minutes of coaxing, Jackie had Rose to her feet. The younger woman stared at the blank white wall one last time. "He's going to find a way to come back for me."

"Rose..."

"No, Mum! He will. And if he doesn't, then I'll find a way back to him. Because that's what we do, Mum. They try to split us up, but they never ever will. Not permanently. We always find our way back together. You'll see."

Jackie leaned forward and kissed her daughter's cheek. "I believe you. If anyone could do it, it's you two."

"So we'll make our life here," Rose said with determination. "We'll make the best of this situation. But I'm never giving up on him. He needs a hand to hold and ours fit perfectly."

She nudged her shoulder. "Even if that hand gets chopped off?"

"Even then." She giggled before looking at her mum. "I love you."

Jackie smiled. "I love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

"Oh, he's gorgeous," Rose fawned over her baby brother. He was now eight hours old and it was just Rose and Jackie in the hospital room with him. Pete had just left to make a quick trip home to grab a shower and change his clothes. Jackie had gone into labour a bit unexpectedly, two weeks earlier than her due date, and Pete had come straight from the office to the hospital, pouring a large mug of coffee all over himself in the process. Thankfully, despite being slightly early, baby Tony was in perfect health. "Seriously, Mum. He has to be the most perfect thing I've even seen."

Jackie beamed proudly and said, "That he is, but he's tied with another for perfect place."

"Really? And what would that other thing be?"

"You, you silly girl."

Rose looked thoughtfully at the baby for a moment. "Was it like this with me?"

"Like what?" her mum asked.

"This overwhelming love. I mean, he's not even mine, but I just can't imagine feeling this way about anyone or anything. It's sort of freighting. It's like I just want to go out there and make sure that nothing, _nothing, _ever tries to hurt him or bring him harm."

"Yeah, yeah, it was like that with you. Your dad had a right panic attack after you were born!"

Rose laughed, imagining what her first dad's reaction must have been like. After sobering up, she said, "This makes things so much harder now."

"What things?"

"The Dimension Cannon."

"Ah. Have you lot started building it yet?"

"No. Malcolm's still finalising the details. It's just... If we get it up and running-"

"When you get it up and running," Jackie corrected.

Rose playfully rolled her eyes. "_When _we get it up and running, that'll be that, yeah? Cause, you're not going to come back with me. Not now that you have Dad and Tony."

"Rose, sweetheart, we've talked about this. I will miss you terribly. Every single day of my life I will miss you. But if you have the opportunity again to find the Doctor, you've got to take it. I did, with my new Pete."

"But what will I do without you?"

"We've talked about this before," she reminded gently. "I will always be with you. And besides, no reason to worry about that right now. We've got time. One step at a time, yeah?"

Rose bent forward and placed a kiss to the top of her baby brother's head. "Right." She looked up. "I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

The door opened without noise. Trainer covered feet padded across the hard linoleum floor, until the newcomer was at the side of the small bed that took up only a corner of the room.

"Sweetheart?" a soft voice whispered.

Rose Tyler-Smith looked up from where she had been gazing at the beautiful baby girl in her arms. "Hello, Mum."

"Is she sleeping?"

She smiled tiredly. It had been a long hard labour, and she hadn't had the chance to properly rest yet. "Yeah. Finally. Boy does she have a set of lungs on her. Must get that from the Doctor."

Jackie chuckled. "Oh, no. That's all you, love. You were the exact same way. Where is 'imself then?"

"Gone to get me some proper chips from the little place down the road. I'm starvin'."

Sitting on the side of the bed, Rose placed her daughter in her mother's arms. "So," Jackie began, "how does it feel?"

"What?"

"Having a baby."

"Right now? Right now, I'm exhausted and I can hardly believe she's real. The labour seems like a blur now. I know it lasted hours, but I can barely remember a thing. I just know that the Doctor was on one side of me and you were on the other. But it feels like it did with Tony, that overwhelming love. Only this time it's even more overwhelming." She shook her head. "Don't know how the Doctor's staying so calm. I sort of expected a freak out of sorts, but he's been rock."

Jackie grinned, knowing for a fact that the Doctor had been freaking out, he had just been doing his best to hide it from Rose. He really was wonderful to her little girl. "I'm so happy for you, sweetheart."

"I'm happy too. And you'll stay with us for a few days, yeah? After I get released, you'll stay at our place and help us get settled?"

"Course I will. I'll always be here whenever you need me."

Rose smiled. "I love you, Mum."

Jackie smiled right back. "I love you too, sweetheart." 


End file.
